Louisiana's Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne talks with 101.7 / 710 KEEL's Robert J Wright and Erin McCarty about the recent meetings of the Revenue Estimating Conference and that group's attempts to put together a fiscal plan for the state.

"Last week, Louisiana’s Revenue Estimating Conference met again with an attempt to update forecasting numbers on revenue. The figures produced get fed into the budget process, with Democrat Edwards’ executive plan for state spending in fiscal year 2020 due in about ten days."

Dardenne tells KEEL listener that one of the major obstacles in determining the state's incoming revenue is the fluctuating price of energy, specifically oil.

"Two months ago, with the group mandated to meet no later than the end of the year, it gathered to consider an increase because of higher-than-expected oil prices. It had predicted throughout this fiscal year a price of $59.42 per barrel, but the two sources, the Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne, Republican House Speaker Taylor Barras, GOP Senate President John Alario and university economist James Richardson thought that should increase to the $61-64 range."

The REC meets four times a year. Their first budget estimate must be completed by the beginning of the state legislature's session in April.